How Solarpunk Fiction Envisions a Better Tomorrow | Video Essay

the planet is dying and there'll be no going back we have to do something fifty-year-old bruce a long-time boulder resident had apparently set himself on fire in the plaza right in front of the court this is a deeply fearless act of compassion to bring attention to climate crisis so it's basically snowing ash right now we're talking about crop failure by 2030 we're talking about people in this country right now in fuel poverty because of the prices of oil and you're talking about the clothes that i'm wearing this is so serious in their 2022 report the intergovernmental panel on climate change laid out the current threats of global warming and the timeline to act if we are to prevent irreversible damage the results are harrowing the un states that our own governments are lying about how critical the timeline actually is we need to massively slow down carbon emissions by 2030 and completely shift away from the fossil industry by mid-century anything less and we're looking at catastrophic damage to our world and we've already seen a taste of what that looks like there are currently 127 individual threats as a result of warming loss of farmland and drought threatening the food supply rising sea levels and floods displacing people deadly heat waves and severe weather around the world the increasing extinction of plants and animals the list goes on and we are rapidly approaching the threshold of that change just 1.5 degrees celsius 2.7 degrees fahrenheit and any damage can never be undone disruption and decay on a global scale forever now the un has lost faith in world leaders it's no longer if we go over it's when and we will go over that threshold naturally our art reflects our own reality gone is the zeitgeist of bright and hopeful futures in its place are the dark and pessimistic worlds of cyberpunk and dystopia throughout all media we are massively inundated with despair from the oppressive forces of capitalism governments and our own decaying social environments even the more hopeful narratives about reclaiming a sense of humanity still feature and emphasize apocalyptic settings and while these stories teach us what to avoid they are nonetheless rooted in defeatist futures where collapse has already occurred and the more we live in those worlds the more indifferent we become to our own looming realities so wouldn't it be nice if we had a more positive alternative something that actually gave us hope well income solar punk [Music] in march of 2008 the beluga sky sale a cargo ship from germany departed on its maiden voyage to venezuela it was the world's first computer-controlled ship running on kite power reducing fuel consumption by up to 35 percent depending on route and weather conditions steven rage the director of sky sale system and installer of the 1700 square foot kite was proud to prove that this concept of hybrid energy could not only work but be instrumental in reducing fuel consumption and emissions a few months later the republic of bees would publish a blog post inspired by the beluga sky sale introducing a brand new literary subgenre solar punk [Music] solar punk is a lot of things its definitions are still growing but at its heart is always about one thing a vision of a possible future where humanity nature and technology live in harmony beyond the human centric solar punk worlds are a green sustainable and socially just for everyone in solar punk futures society has moved beyond scarcity beyond hierarchy and beyond marginalization to create ecologically positive societies drawing its name from cyberpunk and steampunk it is antithetical to the apathetic dystopias found in stories across modern media and more importantly a direct response to our own existing eco-political climates as we know them today and while the republic of bees claims that these genres share a similar cynical sense of politics i don't think solarpunk does at all because it can't in fact the very suffix of punk in solar punk directly opposes our current climate altogether to fight for brighter futures solarpunk encourages us to strive towards ecological utopias enabling us to view better worlds that by its very definition give it its uncompromising power and boldness not because it can but because it should it is the antidote to climate grief and a necessary movement a sprout cracking through the concrete begging to exist [Music] what makes solar punk truly special however is that it considers the state of things beyond the human think of social depictions found in cyberpunk and you'll find pessimistic futures focusing on the anthropocene and while these stories can be great didactic lessons on what to avoid they're still limited by only focusing on issues surrounding humanity solar punk on the other hand also prioritizes the non-human encroaching what donna haraway calls the cthulhu scene for solar punk to truly be successful it can't just rely on the issues of the human earth's troubles and we ourselves also belong to nature therefore solarpunk futures emphasize both the building and maintaining of relationships with the non-human whether it be with or without technology moreover solar punk is for everyone after all a society where racial hierarchy continues to exist and be woven into the fabric of its laws and communities is a failed society in this way solar punk centers on the outsider and marginalized groups because it must really this is one of the key reasons why we call solar punk punk because its very existence fights against our current systems of oppression found in so many of our countries and especially here in the states and we can even think about our failings of current ecological policies and the lack thereof when so many countries and companies are pledging to be carbon neutral in the next 10 to 15 years solar punk is here to say it is not enough to be carbon neutral when it will already be too late by the time we get there we are working with outdated timelines and doing the bare minimum to protect a cancerous status quo in his article the pedagogical value of utopia isaiah johnson says that the future will be solar punk or there will be no future at all and he's right when the earth is reaching irreversible damage by the end of the decade it makes solar punch not just one of the most important literary genres it makes its fiction necessary to learn from and adapt so why haven't there been more texts in modern media that depict solar punk futures honestly i think we might just be around the corner from its own cultural renaissance and while no true definitive solar punk text currently exists there are however prominent examples that get close and you might already be familiar with some [Music] so [Music] hayao miyazaki is solar punk it's actually one of the lines written in the solar punk manifesto yeah there's a manifest though adapted from adam flynn's notes towards a manifesto regenerative design notes the current aesthetics of what solar punk texts represent a merging of the practical with the beautiful sustainable environments that emphasize social justice and a vision of the future that is very much obtainable but there's a bit of complication when it comes to dystopias and post-apocalyptic settings by its very nature the manifesto says that solarpunk futures can't be dystopian they have to be optimistic or concerned with the struggles on route to a better world to an extent they're right but i'd also like to posit that solarpunk can and should exist inside certain dystopias insofar as genuine an optimistic sustainability or positive post-apocalyptic recovery are actually achieved regenerative design after all says that the punk in solar punk is about rebellion counterculture post-capitalism decolonialism and enthusiasm about going in a different direction than the mainstream if solar punk is the forward-facing eco movement that we claim it to be then solar punk futures should still be obtainable even in the face of destruction a recovered society can still be an ecologically successful society and we see these sorts of worlds in miyazaki's films all the time nausicaa of the valley of the wind begins her film in the middle of the toxic jungle 1000 years after the apocalyptic destruction of a global war and yet it ends on a hopeful note nausica fulfills the prophecy of reaching peace with the armored om and begins earth's journey to a path of recovery as a non-toxic tree begins to sprout and princess mononoke is as outwardly eco with the film emphasizing how industrialization is rapidly destroying the world and just like nausicaa so too does mononoke end with an emergent solar punk future as the forest begins to regrow but for the purposes of this essay we'll be taking a look at a different studio ghibli film in castle in the sky studio ghibli takes inspiration from the floating island of laputa in jonathan swift's gulliver's travels and gives it an eco-critical twist to become one of miyazaki's most prominent examples of solar punk in gulliver's travels the leputians are a stubborn and narrow-minded people hyper-fixated on supposed quantitative rules of how things ought to be they are victims and a representation of over rationalization while they're obsessed with math the locution's rules for making calculations are so unfoundedly misguided that they frequently make errors their clothes decorated in stars and music symbols are so poorly tailored that everyone's robes are ill-fitting and their homes are so disastrously planned that when they are finally constructed end up oddly shaped and with no right angles indeed the locutions are so distracted so in their head that they require the assistance of flappers a person who tells them when to listen when to speak and where to look just to interact with one another they are so self-obsessed that they don't even realize the women of laputa are having adulterous relationships with the people from the country of bound the barbie right below and worst of all the king of laputa frequently threatens baal nabarby with destruction and eco-terrorism either cutting off sunshine or rain bombing them with boulders or even crushing them these are the destructive consequences of the arrogance of man but castle in the sky recontextualizes laputa entirely it embodies the implications of punk by literally becoming a post-capitalist escape from the world a society created as a direct response to those destructive forces of man an island of counter culture laputa as it exists in the film has become one closely connected to and with nature mythified after decades of hiding laputa conceals itself within the elements of the sky a tornado in a sea of clouds meant to ward off invaders seeking to steal the secrets that power the island and its very layout reaffirms the relationship laputa has with nature with the design of the island built as an idyllic paradise looking at the architecture you can see how the landscape is made to wrap around the roots the rivers and the paths that make up the surface all leading up to a massive arboretum encompassing a giant tree the core of laputa the biggest difference in castle in the sky however is that the citizens of the island have all vanished leputa has become a ruin left in their place are the automatons the robot guardians and caretakers of the floating island in the arboretum the robots have emerged with a new directive without humans they live their lives as gardeners tending to the lush greens and the animal life that have remained and it's with these automatons where i believe miyazaki truly embodies what it means to be solar punk representing a true symbiotic relationship between technology and the idyllic to serve nature what makes this symbolism doubly powerful is that these robots were originally created as weapons vessels of war to protect the island and attack against invaders to the utmost scale without humans that changes now their roles as gardeners exist as an antithetical reprieve from their man-made directive of destruction they are now activists conservationists solar punks nature is at the forefront of castle in the sky's message the arboretum is a window to the freedom that is the sky nature and architecture are anthropomorphized as they work to protect the entrances to the secret underground tomb of information and nature hides the wealth and relics of laputa's past underneath roots and stones the real treasure after all is its peace but most importantly is how its most hidden secret a magical spell of destruction is actually a spell of rebirth as shita and pazu proceed to use the spell against an invading army the island of laputa begins to crumble the very first things to go are its weapons in a gilded throne room preserved at the bottom shedding layers of human-centric inventions gone are the weapons and hierarchies of its past society what remains what the spell seeks to preserve are the fields and forests of the gardens above with the giant tree activating a kind of ecological reset laputa isn't its wealth it isn't its magic or its technology or even its history it's an idea laputa persists as a floating living embodiment to detach ourselves from the world of the human and their ultimately destructive ways that we must evolve beyond our concerns of power and wealth to live among nature for the sake of a better tomorrow to create a climate where even our technology works to further sustainability and peace where the challenges of dealing with human issues evolve to worthwhile concerns of how to live together and not against each other castle in the sky isn't a perfect example laputa after all began as a society that departed from the rest of humanity but it still exists as a microcosm of a solar punk future we can and should achieve if only we leave our most toxic wanton traits as humans behind [Music] wake the [ __ ] up samurai we have a city to burn if there's any medium that is inundated with the most ecologically pessimistic depictions of society then it's certainly video games especially in the aaa space big budget games like fallout final fantasy vii and cyberpunk 2077 all highlight themes of social decay hell even battle royales have begun to jump aboard the dystopian aesthetic with neil blomkamp's recently announced shooter off the grid okay even more hopeful games like death stranding or the last of us still feature apocalyptic settings and heavily meditate on humanity's failures and when games offer an escape from the troubles of real life being reinforced with apathetic landscapes in the media we consume can really start to take a toll on our mental states it's why a wholesome game like animal crossing released during the beginning of a global pandemic was so successful a retreat to the life of gardeners and caretakers was therapeutic i'm sure for so many of us in the same way true solar punk media is few and far between in books and movies so too is it barely emergent in video games it's got its niche text in the medium but only if you're really looking in the indie scene you'll find an array of small games with the solar punk tag on itchio roots and flowers is a purchasable board game where the goal is to create a thriving and sustainable community solaire is a top-down narrative adventure game about maintaining the tech that keeps a solar punk village ecologically positive the forest train is a text-based narrative game where your mind wanders in thought as you travel through a post-industrial world and most recently during their devolver digital showcase video game developer and eco warrior free lives debuted their upcoming title terra nil a strategy game with the task of creating environmental rejuvenation through sustainable practices solar punk is out there in fact you can even find instances of solar punk communities hidden in some critically acclaimed dystopian games in jump over the age's latest rpg you play as a robot a sleeper with the consciousness of a human woken up aboard a collapsed space station where survivors have built a society run on corruption crime and decay life in the eye has gone to [ __ ] gangs overrun districts and fight for control shipyard crew work amidst the scrap of a former revolt doctors price gouge for medicine bounty hunters hide in the markets bars and shadows of every turn to survive you must work in various locations around the eye taking up dangerous jobs in an attempt to scrounge up change one lonely cycle at a time this is a system made to keep you in debt in fear that your friends might soon sell you out for profit you fall asleep each night not knowing if your robot body will survive to live another few days never mind attempting to leave you can only hope you've saved up enough credits to buy the only medicine that is keeping you alive role-playing in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism this is citizen sleeper however hidden behind the ruins of one of the eyes fairies lies the greenway a secret world of lush green trees forests of mushrooms and a commune of refuge who have left the city to build an optimistic and peaceful life here your objectives rely solely on gardening cleaning and gathering for the sake of the community a stark contrast to the jobs you've taken before while the city spirals further into decay the greenway flourishes with life just like your dying artificial body so too was the greenway written off as incurable until the people came together to work in harmony to create a future for themselves the greenway wasn't just a reprieve from the cyberpunk life in the eye it was proof that an ecologically thriving community was possible in the most disintegrated and collapsed places in the ruins of a broken space station where life breathes and nourished soil sustainability through the ages and more importantly the greenway stands as a representation that solar punk life can and should exist even in the harshest environments societies and speculative dystopias if a group of people stranded in space can create a thriving sustainable community then why can't we with all our resources money and modern technology do the same and that isn't to say solar punk exists only in indie games if we want to see progressive change in our own world then we need prominent examples of solar punk in more mainstream media in fact this year we got one of the best examples of what a solar punk community could look like in a triple a first party game horizon forbidden west west premise focuses on a blight that is ravaging the post-apocalyptic world of the continental us as aeloy treks closer towards the west coast she'll see both nature and technological life bathe in the parasitic reds of the blight as crops quickly die out and the machines turn violent a consequence from a change in their code due to the blight the face of extinction encroaches closer than ever before one of the communities alloy visits on her journey is plain song a large settlement by the utaru tribe living underneath satellite arrays at the base of a mountain range what was once beautiful farmland surrounded by rivers and forests run by machines the residents called land gods is now withering away to the blight in what becomes a multi-level side quest called the second verse eloy helps her friend zou fix the land gods and rebuild the community of plain song scattered across the wilds eloy searches for the lost land gods to initiate a reboot sequence that will eliminate the blight from their code once and for all the more you complete the side quest the further ecological restoration is made in plain song rivers turn blue wildlife emerges from the trees butterflies flutter around flowers and fields turn green again slowly but surely the land gods return to plain song in the fields the workers sing alongside the machines as they grow and upkeep their crops from a tour above you'll see the community living and breathing as one hole the roots and vines that overtake the satellites that surround the village now clearer than ever before in the face of apocalypse and even when pressed near destruction plain song persists as a solar punk community where man and machine thrive together to build a lush sustainable future where the heart of what it means to survive is to garden to breathe life and to care for the environment and those living alongside you in it and that's just not something you see very often in video games what's more punk than that frankly we could use more optimism in our medium and i'm so happy to see changes coming to our science fiction texts and that includes games we know the dangers of social and ecological collapse we've seen them time and again and honestly one could argue we're probably already living in that world anyway instead what we need are positive examples of what we could achieve together in our books games movies and shows we need to see futures where humanity is thriving in a green and peaceful world we need solar punk to remind us to fight for the future we all deserve and the more media that does that the closer we'll get to actually achieving that future and in time and with enough positive examples we may just get there i only hope it isn't too late above anything solar punk is a teacher solar punk makes us think about the ways we interpret increasingly depressing science fiction media and hopefully wakes us up from our climate apathetic malaise in policy and in lifestyle solarpunk reminds us that green futures aren't just prosperous but that they are achievable and should be implemented as fast as humanly possible solarpunk is our climate forward call to action that helps us demand sustainable practices for the sake of a better tomorrow not just for humans but for the plants animals and everything that will come after us it isn't just art or an aesthetic it isn't the green that lines skyscrapers nor the outdated policies of hollow green promises it is the dirt underneath the fingernail of the gardener the trees that stand above communities the deconstruction of racial political and capitalistic hierarchies and to write solar punk is to manifest the future where solar punk actually exists after all solar punk is the future our future and without it we may not have a future at all [Music] [Music] [Music] you

Channel: The Penultimate Conquest

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Id: qSaXAsi8XAY

Length: 27min 49sec (1669 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 28 2022